


You're Missing Out {Rewrite}

by SummerStormFlower



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Babies, Baby Huey and Dewey and Louie Duck, Babysitting, Cute, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Gen, Grumpy Scrooge McDuck, Parent Donald Duck, Parent Scrooge McDuck, Sad and Happy, Scrooge McDuck Has Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 11:34:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30122139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerStormFlower/pseuds/SummerStormFlower
Summary: The boys didn't know this, but Donald has asked Scrooge to babysit them before.
Relationships: Bentina Beakley & Dewey Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck, Bentina Beakley & Scrooge McDuck, Dewey Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck & Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck & Scrooge McDuck
Comments: 16
Kudos: 69





	You're Missing Out {Rewrite}

**Author's Note:**

> I miss writing baby HDL! It was fun to fix this up.

“Jettison that jalopy from mah driveway this instant, ya deadbeat!”

Donald sighed heavily. He’d been expecting that. 

He turned around and there was the ‘Great’ Scrooge McDuck, looking as dapper as ever with his fancy overcoat and top hat.

“It’s me, Uncle Scrooge,” Donald said.

“Ah know that,” Scrooge replied, a scowl on his face. “Jettison that jalopy from mah driveway, ya deadbeat.”

Donald sighed again, unamused. Maybe he should have gone to Gladstone after all.

“What do ye want?” Scrooge asked, scowl easing a bit.

Well, it was too late now. “I need your help,” Donald responded.

Scrooge looked surprised. Then he raised a brow. “With what?”

“I need you to look after these three.” Donald pulled back the shade on the stroller, revealing three baby ducklings buckled in. Huey, on the right, was sucking on a soother and had a stuffed giraffe under his arm. Dewey, on the left, was leaning out as far as he could, looking everywhere. Louie, in the middle, was fast asleep.

Scrooge’s eyes were wide with shock.

Donald knelt down, sitting Dewey up—only for him to slouch and lean over the side again. “These are the boys,” Donald said, watching Scrooge’s reaction. This was his first time seeing them. He hadn’t been at the hospital to watch them hatch. Donald didn’t call to let him know until a few days after. He almost didn’t, but he’d decided that Scrooge should know they all were born healthy, at least.

Scrooge stared at the babies in wonder for nearly a whole minute. Then he gave himself a shake and cleared his throat. “So, what? Ye want me ta babysit?” he asked, incredulous.

Donald stood back up. “Yes.”

Scrooge balked. “You’re serious, lad?”

“Yes.” Donald sighed, rubbing his forehead where he felt a headache starting to grow. “You’re my only option right now.”

Scrooge was silent.

Donald swallowed a lump in his throat that was probably his pride. “Please.”

Scrooge stared at him and Donald hoped that wasn’t pity in his eyes. He knew he looked terrible. It’d been a really rough week. And he’d had enough of pitiful stares.

Finally, Scrooge spoke, “Ahright.”

Donald sighed again, this time in relief, and passed the stroller over to Scrooge. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Scrooge said gruffly, looking down at the babies uncertainly.

“I’ll be back to pick them up this evening,” Donald said, walking towards his car on the driveway.

“Uh...” Scrooge stammered awkwardly, “See ye later?”

Donald nodded back at him. With one last look at the boys, Donald got in his car and drove away.

Scrooge watched him until he was out of sight, then he huffed. He looked down at the triplets.

“Oh boy.”

The red one’s eyes were huge with tears. If Scrooge remembered correctly, one crying baby soon became a chain of crying babies.

“Uh, let’s get the three of ye inside,” Scrooge said frantically.

Scrooge did, in fact, remember correctly. It wasn’t very long at all before his ears were full of three ducklings’ cries.

Getting Dewey to stop crying was easy enough. All he’d wanted was out of the stroller and he was happy as soon as Scrooge set him on the floor. Huey was harder. Scrooge tried rocking him, but that didn’t work. When Scrooge sat down and tried bouncing him though, Huey’s cries turned into laughter. So Scrooge bounced him on his lap until he wanted down.

Louie hadn’t stopped crying in the past two hours. Scrooge had tried everything and nothing had worked with him. Not rocking, not talking, not playing, not feeding, not changing, not napping. Nothing!

It didn’t help that Scrooge had to keep his eye on the other two. Dewey crawled everywhere and on everything. Scrooge had caught him with his free hand before he’d fallen off the couch twice, had to pry him off the table three times, and shoo him away from the plants more than several times. Not to mention, Scrooge had lost track of all the times he’d nearly lost Dewey, while his attention was on Louie. That child never stayed still! Scrooge had closed as many doors as possible to try and keep him in one room.

Huey wasn’t as bad. Sure, he crawled around, but he never went too far. He started crying whenever he couldn’t see Dewey. Luckily, Dewey always crawled back to him. Huey would stop as soon as he saw him coming and he’d be okay again.

Unfortunately, Dewey kept leaving him over and over.

Scrooge’s eyes were constantly darting up and down, trying to keep up with the blue triplet, not trip over Huey, or bump into anything. With a screaming baby on his hip.

“Curse me kilts, child!” Scrooge blurted, switching Louie to his other, less sore hip and bouncing him. “Why won’t ye stop that incessant blubberin’?!”

Louie only cried harder.

Scrooge groaned.

“You have no idea what you’re doing,” said a woman’s voice.

Scrooge turned and glared at Bentina in the doorway. “Of course ah donnae know what I’m doin’!” he shouted over Louie’s crying. “Ah haven’t taken care of babies in over twenty years! And ah was a lot younger back then!”

Bentina rolled her eyes. “Allow me,” she said, holding out her arms.

“Be mah guest,” said Scrooge, handing Louie over easily. He groaned, rubbing his aching back when the duckling was no longer weighing him down.

“Hush now, little one. There, there,” Bentina said softly, rocking Louie back and fourth.

Slowly, Louie’s cries began to quiet as Bentina shushed him gently and rocked him. Then suddenly, he stopped crying.

Scrooge’s beak fell open. “How’d ye do that?!”

Bentina scoffed, “I was a mother.”

Well, this was news to Scrooge. “Ye are?” he asked.

“Was,” corrected Bentina, a far away look on her face. “My daughter and I do not speak anymore,” she said.

Louie gurgled up at her. Bentina twirled the tiny feathers on top of his head, making him coo happily.

“Ah,” Scrooge said awkwardly.

Huey bursting out crying again broke the silence.

“You!” Scrooge exclaimed, pointing at Dewey.

Dewey stopped crawling and looked up at him with startled eyes.

“Quit runnin’ away! Ye scare yer brother every time ye do that!” Scrooge said, pointing at Huey.

Dewey looked at Huey, then crawled back to him. Huey stopped crying the second he saw him and smiled, cooing contentedly. Dewey sat beside him, cooing back. And he stayed there. Maybe he’d actually understood what Scrooge had told him.

“Their names are Hubert, Dewford and Llewellyn,” said Bentina, “You know this. Donald told you.”

“I donnae remember which is which,” Scrooge said tiredly. He’d never felt this tired before in his life.

Bentina sighed. “You are hopeless. Now, I must go make lunch. I will call you when it’s ready.” She gave Louie back to Scrooge, then left the room.

Louie started screaming the second she was gone.

“Oh, for the love of—!” Scrooge made a noise of displeasure. “Bless me bagpipes, child.”

Feeding Huey was easy enough. He must’ve been hungry because he didn’t whine, or fight, or fling his food at all. And Bentina fed Louie with no difficulty as well.

Dewey, however, refused to eat. He whined loudly and swatted the spoon away.

“C’mon, ya wee deadbeat,” Scrooge growled, “Eat!”

Dewey threw his baby food at Scrooge’s face.

Huey and Louie started giggling. Even Bentina smiled.

Scrooge was not amused though. “Blasted child.”

Huey fell asleep after lunch. Scrooge figured out how to adjust the stroller and laid Huey in it, putting a blanket over him. The lad was... actually kind of cute like this.

Scrooge managed to keep Dewey in one place by entertaining him with a game of peek-a-boo. It kept him cooing and laughing, big grin on his beak, for over an hour. As long as he was getting some form of attention, he was happy. What a simple baby.

Louie was perhaps even simpler. He didn’t need much attention. He crawled around the room, content to just do his own little thing. He touched everything, so Scrooge had moved anything that Louie could choke on, or hurt himself with up high.

Eventually, Dewey mellowed out and was happy just to sit on Scrooge’s lap. Huey woke up after about two hours, wanting out of the stroller. He followed Bentina around, as she dusted, tugging at the end of her dress and making grabby hands at her. She got the hint and picked him up. She carried him with her, until he got restless. When Bentina set him down, he crawled over to Scrooge and tried to climb up his leg.

“Want up, eh lad?” said Scrooge. He scooped Huey onto his lap with his free arm.

Louie crawled over too, whining at being left out.

“Ye too?” Scrooge asked.

Louie whined at him again in response.

With a sigh, Scrooge picked up Louie as well. His arms were now full with three baby ducklings.

Dewey fell asleep, leaning against Huey. Huey was talking to Louie, cooing and making gestures at him, like he was telling him something important. Louie wasn’t listening to him though, too busy putting the buttons of Scrooge’s coat in his mouth.

“Hey, you’ll get them full of slobber,” Scrooge told him, shooing Louie’s little beak away from his clothes.

Louie looked up and just smiled at him.

It made Scrooge’s heart do a funny flip.

“Thanks for watching them,” Donald said, buckling the sleeping triplets in their car seats.

“No problem,” replied Scrooge, unable to take his eyes off of the babies’ peaceful faces. After just one day, those three troublemakers had wriggled their way under his skin. Sure, they’d driven him crazy, but they’d also made the sun shine inside his heart with their wee smiles and laughter. It made him feel alive. He’d forgotten how quickly ducks grow fond of ducklings.

But now that Donald and the boys were leaving, the sun in his old heart had gone dark and he felt empty and hollow. He had no idea if he’d ever see them again.

Donald turned to him. For a moment, they just stood there together. There were so many unspoken words and hurt feelings in the silence between them. It made Scrooge feel like choking.

“Goodbye, Uncle Scrooge,” Donald finally said.

Scrooge wanted nothing more in that moment than to drag his nephew into a hug. But he didn’t.

“Goodbye, Donald.”

He watched Donald get into his car, checking behind him to make sure each of the boys were buckled in safely. Then he backed out of the driveway and drove away.

Scrooge stood under the night sky for a long time after he left.

Eventually, Bentina came out to check on him. She stood beside him.

“You’re missing out,” she said.

Scrooge scowled harshly. “No, I’m not.” But the truth was, there was the sting of tears in his eyes and his heart was breaking all over again.


End file.
